Dear Editor,
Fr. Robert Barrow, Roman Catholic priest and member of the Society of Jesus was a towering figure physically and in stature within the Diocese of Georgetown. Wherever he served, be it at St. Stanislaus College, Brickdam Cathedral, the East Coast parishes, Port Mourant or Sacred Heart R.C. Church, he had a huge following. This was mainly on account of his pleasant and outgoing disposition but more so because he was a brilliant homilist.
Bob Barrow was the finest exponent of sermons that I have known. I recall during my days in the Catholic youth movement young persons from the various Georgetown parishes would visit the Sacred Heart Church on Sunday afternoons just to listen to his homilies. And some would take notes as he preached. He was that good!
He officiated jointly with Lutheran pastor, Errol Inshanally, at my wedding, a practice permitted by the Church but rarely done. Despite my role in the Church, he was a stickler for the rules and did not grant me a waiver from attending marriage counseling classes. I was forced to make weekly trips to Port Mourant to attend these classes with my bride-to-be.
During one of those classes, I sat in a separate chair from my beloved future wife. Fr. Bob immediately told me that from thenceforth, we have to do things together including always sitting beside each other. That lesson stuck with me. At the end of our final session – one week before my wedding – he summoned me into his office and told me that he had heard that I had a child out of wedlock. Knowing him to have a healthy sense of humour, I laughed heartily thinking he was being mischievous. But he was dead serious. And I had to spend the next ten minutes answering a barrage of questions. In the end, he embraced me and told me he would see me in Church the following week.
Time gets to us all. About ten years ago, when I met him, he did not remember me at all, neither by name or face, but he still greeted me warmly as he did everyone else. Rest in Peace Fr. Bob!
Sincerely,
William Cox
